[pelathais]

Usually attempts to implement things like this involve the potentates "judging" and "trying" the spirits of those whose labor they are seeking to employ. Thus, if you refuse to be involved you are judged to "have a bad spirit."

Not only are the potentates "better" than you and I and deserving of this luxury, but they also have the ability to dispense the judgment of God. The fact that you and I have trouble understanding this is just more evidence that we don't really belong in those lofty positions. And, the fact that they do understand this merely fixes their position more securely - in their own mind at least.

I'm actually thinking of direct personal experiences that bring these issues a little too close to home. Have you ever had someone screaming at you and demanding that you accept the notion that God has sent a "spirit of anger" upon them and that's why they are screaming? Not only have you "disappointed" them, but you have angered God! How terrible your fate must be.